FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Retired Old Rat]

Was at Sweeney's tonight and saw a Tommie fan in the "Don Roney Era" t-shirt.  I had seen it at the game but didn't "get it."  So I asked the kid and turns out there was nothing to get.  Just a bunch of guys who played for Roney and wanted everyone to know so they made the t-shirts.  Actually the kid said, "Roney seems to get a bad rap so we just wanted to support the fact that we played for him and he was a good guy."

I saw a guy with one of those shirts also.  I asked him to turn around so I could see what was on the back, expecting to read the punch line.  He said there was nothing on the back.  I said "I don't get it."  After insulting my intelligence, he said he'd been recruited by Roney.

[Retired Old Rat]

I had a couple of conversations with Ben Wartman yesterday.  The 1st, not so good.  The 2nd, he apologized to me.  I thanked him for his apology.  Turns out he is, as I had thought, a nice young man.  I did notice that he did not rejoin his group above the WCCO sign for the 2nd half.  Wise decision.

I don't think Greg Morris (sp?) was doing any of the heckling.

I'm done talking about the home seating on top of the visitor bench thing.  If the UST administration thinks its appropriate, so be it.  In my heart, I don't think SJU would ever do that.  We have stupid fans too, but the institution places value on being a welcoming place.

Now that Johnnie Nation is aware of the seating arrangement at St. Thomas, hopefully in the future the early arriving SJU fans will stake out the spots immediately behind the visitor bench.

[Retired Old Rat]

Sorry about the 3 posts in a row.

I thought St. Thomas played a near perfect game.  They are talented, deep and well coached.  Only time will tell if they've jumped into the top echelon that has been owned by UMU and UWW.

I say near perfect, as they had 9 penalties, including 3 personal fouls.  Better clean that up if they expect to make the jump.

Disappointed that the SJU students deserted at half time.  Trust me, I know how hard it was to watch.

Had a nice conversation with Tommy Hannon (St. Thomas basketball player) during the 4th quarter.  He and antother St. Thomas student tried to jump into a photo I was taking of SJU fans.  After a little good natured trash talking, we had a good conversation.  He was very complimentary regarding the SJU basketball team.  Great kid.

[OzJohnnie]

Well, with a day behind me and the disappointment of getting spanked by UST a fading memory, I'm looking forward seeing how the Johnnies recover.  We may have a chance against BU with the weakness that STO exposed.  Gagliardi is the master of the halftime adjustment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what adjustments he makes now.

[sjusection105]

Well, with a day behind me and the disappointment of getting spanked by UST a fading memory, I'm looking forward seeing how the Johnnies recover.  We may have a chance against BU with the weakness that STO exposed.  Gagliardi is the master of the halftime adjustment, so I'm looking forward to seeing what adjustments he makes now.

Oz,

I hate to throw a bucket of cold water on your fantasy, but Johnson also has 6 days to come up with a scheme to stop whatever the Johnnies can scheme in 6 days.

Remember the hogs up front for Bethel will eat clock with slow,methodical 8 minute drives, so if the SJU offense does happen to strike quickly,the Johnnie D will be getting little rest between series.....kind of a Catch 22

[Retired Old Rat]

Did Ray Grant graduate from Hamline?  I haven't seen any game highlights of him this year.

Since Grant graduated, I guess Hamline decided their new coach would provide the comedic material.  Google "john pate sasquatch." Pate is the new head football coach at Hamline.

(Hat tip to Wille Wonka on Pate.)

[hazzben]

Since Grant graduated, I guess Hamline decided their new coach would provide the comedic material.  Google "john pate sasquatch." Pate is the new head football coach at Hamline.

Sounds like he'll be a great fit at Hamline 

[USTBench]

Bench,
Nice to visit with you yesterday. Keep the faith on the UND hockey front!

BTW, you really out punted your coverage with the fiancee,quite the catch for a guy like you..... 

Thanks! Really couldn't ask for a better gal.

Sounds like UND put a whooping on something called the University of Regina. So, they'll be in okay shape this year.

[sjusection105]

Well, at least there was a place to sit in the second half. So...that was nice.

At least you'll have this attendance record to cling to when the universe re-aligns & you are back to your normal 4-6 seasons......

[Chubbs]

Miacmaniac:

Did you even bother to read all my posts-probably not. I said if any team is throwing up 49-0 in the 3rd quarter-that is bush league. I stand by that. UST was bush league today. Has SJU been bush league in the past-guess so if you are correct.
And by the way-the past doesn't justify the present! I guess you have never heard of two wrongs don't make a right.
It is sort of funny that you all justify the play today by saying SJU deserved it for beating you for so long-interesting. Sad, but interesting.

Preface to what I'm about to say: Bethel has hung some very ugly numbers on opponents in the past (a couple unfortunate encounters with Mac and Carleton spring immediately to mind), so I know as a Bethel alum I live in a glass house and am not throwing stones.

Does the history between SJU and U$T justify any run up of the score that occurred Saturday?  No.
Do two wrongs make a right?  Few on this board are so daft as to believe that.
Does an SJU fan whining about running up the score make himself the proverbial pot calling the kettle black?  Yes.

As others have so eloquently put it, be tough enough to take your beating when you have one coming.  Most of the SJU faithful on the board have been in this case.

SJU fans have watched their great teams hang huge numbers on MIAC opponents for years and every time you're accused of running up scores the answer has been, "If you don't like it, stop us." (which I have no problem with, BTW)  However, the moment the shoe is on the other foot you cry foul.  Forgive me for seeing the ironic humor in that.

The only thing more pathetic than running up the score is complaining about being on the wrong end of it.  Doing so is effectively acknowledging that your team is not fit to compete and had no business being on the field with the opposition, and therefore are to be pitied.  To step on the field of competition is to acknowledge that you believe you are better than the other guy, or at very least capable of defending yourself with no mercy asked.   

[faunch]

Miacmaniac:

Did you even bother to read all my posts-probably not. I said if any team is throwing up 49-0 in the 3rd quarter-that is bush league. I stand by that. UST was bush league today. Has SJU been bush league in the past-guess so if you are correct.
And by the way-the past doesn't justify the present! I guess you have never heard of two wrongs don't make a right.
It is sort of funny that you all justify the play today by saying SJU deserved it for beating you for so long-interesting. Sad, but interesting.

Preface to what I'm about to say: Bethel has hung some very ugly numbers on opponents in the past (a couple unfortunate encounters with Mac and Carleton spring immediately to mind), so I know as a Bethel alum I live in a glass house and am not throwing stones.

Does the history between SJU and U$T justify any run up of the score that occurred Saturday?  No.
Do two wrongs make a right?  Few on this board are so daft as to believe that.
Does an SJU fan whining about running up the score make himself the proverbial pot calling the kettle black?  Yes.

As others have so eloquently put it, be tough enough to take your beating when you have one coming.  Most of the SJU faithful on the board have been in this case.

SJU fans have watched their great teams hang huge numbers on MIAC opponents for years and every time you're accused of running up scores the answer has been, "If you don't like it, stop us." (which I have no problem with, BTW)  However, the moment the shoe is on the other foot you cry foul.  Forgive me for seeing the ironic humor in that.

The only thing more pathetic than running up the score is complaining about being on the wrong end of it.  Doing so is effectively acknowledging that your team is not fit to compete and had no business being on the field with the opposition, and therefore are to be pitied.  To step on the field of competition is to acknowledge that you believe you are better than the other guy, or at very least capable of defending yourself with no mercy asked.

I left at halftime so I have no idea what happened in the 2nd half.  From looking at the box score I would only question why Waldvogel, Tracy and others were still in the game late in the 3rd quarter.  If the UST staff felt it necessary to play them one more quarter that's fine by me...I just don't know what benefit there was from keeping them in the game.  Is it worth the risk of injury to keep them playing in a game that was a complete joke?  Could the SJU starters have really come back against the 2nd string of UST?

Near the end of the first half I was chatting with some friends and we were discussing when a coach should pull his starters.  Not that I would ever want to see a player get hurt but I've always felt coaches sometimes temp fate when they shouldn't.
What if Waldvogel got his knee blown out or Tracy took a shot to the head while trying to score the Tommies 9th TD of the game?  I know it didn't happen but what if it did?  What a waste it would be. 

[USTBench]

The 49 to 0 halftime score was kind of hard to avoid. Blocked punts and very short fields for the first 30 minutes of the game. SJU had a bad game all around, but their worst facet was special teams.

I really have no problem with a team laying the hammer down and scoring as much as they can for a half of football. 63 to 7 seems really awful, but from what I saw in the first half, it could've been a lot worse. Believe it or not, UST called off the dogs quite a bit. Additionally, you get just 10 Saturdays guaranteed to you, and if you want your starters to see 3rd and long, 4 and short, 2nd and medium, from different spots on the field against another team's varsity, it seems reasonable to let them play a little bit in the 3rd quarter. A ton of guys played for UST on Saturday, so I don't see it as "busch league," I see it as pragmatic to give your playoff roster game experience in a playoff atmosphere.

At the college level, feelings shouldn't come into play. Your job is to win and to make sure your team is prepared for any scenario. SJU has hung some pretty gaudy numbers on some teams, and I always thought it was ridiculous to complain about it. It's Brewsterish.

That being said, I was impressed by the number of SJU faithful that stuck around for the duration of the game. SJU's lone TD elicited a big response from some truly devoted fans. Still the best in D3.

[Retired Old Rat]

Did they hand out nice pills to all the St. Thomas PP contributors?

I'll disagree with Bench, I don't think it could be any worse than 49-0.   

I think the 2nd half score of 14-7 does indicate that there was really no running up the score in the 2nd half.

I will agree with Faunch on the pulling the starters to avoid injury.  In the days when SJU was putting up those kinds of numbers I often wondered why the starters were still in.  Just way too easy to get a key player hurt.  And a lost opportunity to test your second team players against the opponents first team.

Any of you St. Thomas guys know why Ayo Idowu was not playing Sat?

[USTBench]

Did they hand out nice pills to all the St. Thomas PP contributors?

I'll disagree with Bench, I don't think it could be any worse than 49-0.   

I think the 2nd half score of 14-7 does indicate that there was really no running up the score in the 2nd half.

I will agree with Faunch on the pulling the starters to avoid injury.  In the days when SJU was putting up those kinds of numbers I often wondered why the starters were still in.  Just way too easy to get a key player hurt.  And a lost opportunity to test your second team players against the opponents first team.

Any of you St. Thomas guys know why Ayo Idowu was not playing Sat?

13 years of futility results in some biting of the tongue.

Including three shoulda, woulda, couldas.

'03, the "SJU's season is ruined even though Gags beat Robinson's record, Elliot won the Gagliardi trophy and they won the National Championship because some crappy UST team put a giant hairy birthmark on their otherwise perfect body of work" loss

'08, the "Phantom touchdown" loss

'09, the "Gags SJU booster luncheon bulletin board material OT loss" loss

I prefer to live in the very relevant present and enjoy it, but I know the history too well to talk a lot of $hit.

[ritz72]

I am a big believer that you play your starters to begin the third quarter, regardless of the situation.  Give the firsts one drive, then replace the QB/RB/WR for the second drive (not that the line is unimportant, but nice to have the 2nds  in those other positions play with the 1st line.  Then from there, on the road, play the 2nds the rest of the way.  At home, play the 2nds for 2-3 drives, then start the revolving door (i.e. "Hey, come stand here if you haven't played yet.")

Another issue I have with people crying over passing when up by a large margin (and I am really pi$$ed that so many Johnnies are doing this).  You still have to let your team play situational football.  If you expect a team to run dive 3 times then punt, would you be upset if they took three knees and then punted, or better yet, punt on second or third down? If your 2nds/3rds/4ths..are in and facing a 3rd and 15, is it "running it up" to attempt to get a first down by passing?  NO WAY!

Third issue I have is that the people who whine and complain the most about running up the score issues are, for the most part, people who NEVER played the game at this level.  Luckily for me, in my 4 years, I was only on the losing side of and a$$ whooping 1 time.  However, we didn't complain and cry over the fact that we got trounced...we accepted it, moved on, and put together a run the next year! College football does not and will not ever give everyone a participation ribbon at the beginning of the year.

Plain and simple.....SJU has gotten woodsheded twice this year.

Might it happen again? Could. 
What's wrong with this version of the Johnnies? Opinions vary.
Where do we go from here?  Time will tell!

Out